To Be Whole
by Ice-Song
Summary: Hao appears after the final battle powerless and weak. Yoh takes him in much to Anna's displeasure and despite his constant threats takes care of him. Will Hao discover a side he never knew he had?
1. Chapter 1

Yoh slowly opened his eyes to the new day. He was tired but he knew that if he didn't get his butt out of bed and on the road, Anna would undoubtedly come in and kick his butt repeatedly until he did so. And so, for lack of wanting a sore posterior he left the house as the sun peeked over the mountains and began his daily run.

Amidamaru appeared next to him in a rush of chilly air. "Yoh-dono," he said softly.

"Hm?" Yoh asked. "What's wrong?"

"I feel something, something foreboding. Can you feel any other shamans around here?" the samurai spirit asked.

Yoh looked up as if in thought and shook his head. "Nope," he said cheerfully. "Why?"

"I just have a feeling," Amidamaru said uncomfortable.

Yoh nodded. He had learned over the time with his spirit that when he got a 'feeling' it was best to heed it. "Well, whatever happens, happens."

"Yoh-dono…" Amidamaru said softly.

Yoh chuckled and continued on his run, thinking about the breakfast that was waiting for him when he got back.

On the last leg of his trip he ducked into a thicket of trees to get shade from the unrelenting sun that now was a quarter of the way to the high mark. He took the front of his shirt and pulled it in and out trying to cool himself off as he ran. "I'd rather be sleeping," he sighed.

Amidamaru gave him an amused chuckle as Yoh lamented his lack of laziness. Sometimes he was unsure if Yoh really liked to be lazy or if he liked to be active. He was never sure at that point but in the obvious heat he doubted anyone would want to be jogging.

In front of them a few leaves rustled and Yoh stopped dead staring at the foliage. Through them a very beat up looking Hao came out and smirked at Yoh. "You think you defeated me…" he said softly. "I will have what I want, Yoh…" he said softly, walking towards Yoh.

Yoh took a step back before he realized that Hao not only was weak but he had no spirit. He was defenseless and he looked about a hair's breadth away from collapsing. "Hao?" he asked, trying to forget the horrible things Hao had done and take into consideration he was about to die without some kind of treatment.

Hao gathered a fistful of Yoh's shirt in his hand. "I will win," he whispered. "I can't… lose…"

Yoh looked puzzled. "Hao, you're human too… how did you…"

Hao chuckled, "As long as you're alive, I can't die. We're one, Yoh… and when I…" he swayed. "I get you back I'll be whole again…"

"Yoh-dono…" Amidamaru said, ready to protect Yoh by any means necessary.

Yoh shook his head. "He's defenseless," he murmured. "Hao, you don't have your spirit. You can't do anything. How did you even get here?"

Hao grinned, a spark of life glistening in his eyes. "I'm the great Hao, I can do anything. I…" his eyes widened and he passed out suddenly, forcing Yoh to catch him.

"What did he mean, he can't die without me?" Yoh asked a very confused Amidamaru.

The samurai shook his head, "I have no idea, Yoh-dono. Perhaps we should…"

Yoh shook his head, "He's hurt. And he's powerless. I don't think he's a threat right now," he said as he bent down and lifted Hao onto his back. "More importantly, he needs help."

"Yoh-dono…" Amidamaru said softly.

"Don't worry, it'll work out," Yoh said with a grin. "Besides, I just can't leave someone in the middle of the road, even if they are Hao."

Amidamaru looked concerned, then nodded. "Very well, Yoh-dono."

"Anna's going to kill me," Yoh said softly as he took his unconscious (and evil) twin home.

Anna crossed her arms and looked down at Yoh. "What is this?" she asked sternly.

"Anna, please…" Yoh said softly. "He doesn't have any power and he needs help."

"You're too kindhearted for your own good, moron," she hissed, trying not to let her alarm show. "He's not Tokageroh, he won't suddenly chance. He is the half of that is evil, literally, remember?"

Yoh shrugged. "I can be bad sometimes, and I can feel hate and anger. So if I can feel that then why can't he feel good?"

Anna gritted her teeth, "He's going to try and kill you again. Do you want that? Huh?"

"It'll be fine," Yoh assured her. "Please Anna, if we keep him here then we'll be able to keep an eye on him. Right?"

Anna eyed Yoh and sighed. "Very well, but I'm not going near him," she snapped and slammed the door as she walked out of the room.

Yoh sunk to his knees and sighed. "That went better then I thought it would," he sighed in relief.

"Are you sure, Yoh-dono?" Amidamaru asked. "Is this all right?"

Yoh nodded, "Of course. Hao can't really be evil; he's still human right? All humans have good in them, no matter what. I may be upset at what he did but… everyone deserves a second chance."

Amidamaru sighed. "Very well, Yoh-dono."

Yoh placed Hao on a futon and walked out of the room. "Don't worry," he told his spirit. "In this heat I doubt anyone could do anything."

Amidamaru shook his head as Yoh laughed at his own joke and retreated into his room to combat the summer air.

Hao's eyes slowly opened, "Not evil, huh?" he asked softly.

Several days after Yoh had found Hao, or rather after Hao had collapsed in front of Yoh, the situation was a bit strained and not much better. Especially with Anna watching every move Hao made.

Finally, Hao decided to confront Yoh. His strength was up and he knew something had to give. "Why are you keeping me here? When I'm trying to kill you."

Yoh looked at Hao and sat down on the porch, waving a fan and trying to stay cool. "Well, you're weak, you have no spirit and no where to go. Besides, you're family, so why not?"

Hao gritted his teeth. "You know as soon as spirit of fire comes back I'll kill you."

Yoh shrugged, "Who said it was coming back? I seem to remember that battle ending differently."

"It's out there, always," Hao said dangerously.

"Fine," Yoh yawned and decided that fanning was too much work. He fell onto his back and looked up at Hao. "But you're not strong enough to control it."

Hao clenched his fist. "I can't merge with you yet. I don't have the power, but I swear…"

Yoh smiled, "That's a relief. Now sit down, seeing you angry is making me tired."

Hao blinked and sat down. He glared at Yoh who looked as if he was napping. "Fine, you can live for now. But only because you're important to me, and my plans. So, until my strength comes back I'm keeping you alive."

Yoh yawned, "Thanks for that," he said sleepily. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and he jumped up and whirled his arms around.

"Yoh?" Hao asked.

"Yeah?" Yoh replied while continuing to beat up an imaginary opponent.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Hao asked, trying not to look too confused.

"Beat the heat," he said with a grin. "I learned it's better to do this then think about being hot. I almost fell asleep so I figured this was a better idea."

"Yoh?"

"Yeah?"

"You're a moron."

A day later Yoh looked at the ceiling of his room with a disinterested expression. It was then so hot that even he couldn't handle it. He never figured himself to never be able to not beat the heat because anything was better then lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. Which of course was exactly what he was doing.

Hao walked into the room and gazed at his twin with an almost puzzled expression. He smirked and walked over to Yoh. "What are you doing?" he asked while leaning over him, trying to see if he was still alive or not.

"Trying to think of something to do," Yoh replied.

"Aren't you bored? Don't you usually try to 'beat the heat'?" his twin asked him.

"Mm," Yoh agreed softly.

"Then why aren't you?" Hao asked, sitting down next to his twin and looking at him.

Yoh closed his eyes, as if in deep thought. When he finally opened them again they brightened for a second in contemplation. "I'm too lazy," he said cheerfully.

Hao blinked and a small scowl crossed his face. He was the evil one, he was the one who caused everyone pain and he was the one who was the devil of the two. If he was so bad, then how could Yoh be so incredibly… annoying? "I put up with soooo much to keep you alive," he growled.

Yoh shrugged, "You've killed me already. It didn't work, remember?"

"How can you say that so easily?" Hao exploded. "How can you just say, 'oh, you've already killed me but it's all right because I'm your FREAKING GOODY OTHER HALF!'"

Yoh blinked slowly and looked at his steaming twin. He smiled broadly and the gesture put Hao's temper out almost immediately. "Bad people can't see spirits," he said gently. "That's how I know… you're not a bad person."

"I hate you," Hao growled.

Yoh chuckled and sat up, turning to face Hao. "I don't like being disliked, and besides I know that's not how you really feel or you would have killed me long ago."

"I swear when I am at full power again…" Hao started.

Yoh raised an eyebrow, "You'll kill me?"

"Yes! No… I…" Hao stopped and blinked. "I hate it when you do that," he sighed.

"Do what?" Yoh asked. He was genuinely confused, even though to Hao it was damn obvious what Yoh did.

"Nothing," Hao sighed. "Look, Yoh. The only reason I'm keeping you alive is because in order for me to regain my full self I need you. That's it."

Yoh smiled again and Hao looked away. "Well, I guess that's it then."

"How can you say that? How can you let me live with you even though you know I'll just kill you when I have the chance?"

Yoh turned to Hao and gave him a nod, "Because, you're not a bad person. Not now, anyway. You can't be, or you would have killed me a long time ago."

Hao growled angrily as Yoh left the room to try and 'fight the heat.' "Idiot, of course I'm bad. I'm everything you're not…"


	2. Chapter 2

Morning came rather loudly through the window as several birds decided to chatter loudly outside of the window. Hao growled and tried to shut out the annoying sound with his pillow. Just as he was about to drift off back to sleep, his twin opened the sliding door with a snap and walked into the room. "Morning," he said cheerfully.

Hao growled dangerously but Yoh decided to ignore the warning. "You should get up, before Anna comes in."

"She hates me," Hao muttered. "She's not coming in, remember?"

Yoh rocked on his haunches and sat on the floor. He drew his knees to his chest and stared at Hao, trying to figure out what he was thinking. It seemed that the early morning was the only time he could catch Hao being something other then his cool, creepy, and indifferent normal self. Unfortunately for Yoh that 'other' thing tended to be crabby. But, at least it was something. At least Hao was a tad more blunt in the morning as opposed to being 'figure it out for yourself' all the time. "Hmmm…" he said softly. "No, but if I come in here then she won't follow me."

Hao sighed into his futon. "Do what you wish," he growled. Really, did Yoh have to come into the room in the mornings? It wasn't like he wasn't being tortured enough. Powerless, upset and unable to do anything he was frustrated beyond all hell and there his 'good' side was, talking to him. The best part was, he was talking to him two months after he had all but killed him and tried to absorb his soul. What the hell was wrong with Yoh?

Yoh did just that. He lay back and linked his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling thoughtfully as Hao lay there under the heavy blanket on the futon. Hao believed that Yoh was the only person on the face of the planet who would just sit there and look at the ceiling for three hours while someone else slept. He was unsure whether or not to be impressed or to be totally humiliated that he had lost to someone who was so undeniably lazy.

"Yoh-dono!" there was a rush in the air as Amidamaru appeared in the room. Hao growled again and drew the blanket tighter around himself. The last thing he wanted was to be near his twin's main spirit since he had lost his own.

Yoh's gaze traveled slowly over to the samurai spirit. "Yeah?" he asked softly.

"Anna-dono says if you don't come out and begin training she's going to smoke you out," Amidamaru said quietly.

Yoh sighed and got up without much protest. "All right, I'm coming," he said softly and left the room without so much as a goodbye to his twin.

Hao peeked out from underneath his covers irritably at Yoh's retreating back. "Either come in or don't but be quiet," he snapped and tried to go back to sleep.

"Yoh-dono is worried about you," Amidamaru said in a quiet voice. "He doesn't like seeing you upset."

Hao sat straight up and glared at the spirit. "Why the hell not? I want to kill him! My goal in life is to reclaim the part of my soul that he has and take over the world because no one deserves to be on this damn planet but those worthy. I know he doesn't agree and I know damn well he won't ever be with me willingly but it's not like I'll magically change for him. All I am waiting for is to get my spirit energy back so that I can fulfill my goal."

Amidamaru looked the child straight in the eye, seeing for the first time that no matter how many times Hao had been reincarnated he was still in a child's body with a child's brain and no matter how rare the occurrence he would act accordingly or go insane. It wasn't easy going through adolescence and Amidamaru figured after the third time it must be getting pretty cumbersome. "Because, Yoh-dono for some reason cares about you," he answered simply and left to follow Yoh on his new, longer run route.

Yoh gasped for breath as he leaned against a tree. "Is she that upset?" he croaked out as he slid to the ground with his back against the rough trunk.

"She's worried about you," Amidamaru said wisely. "I am too, Yoh-dono," he admitted truthfully.

Yoh grinned, "I can take care of myself," he said.

"Why are you so concerned about him?" Amidamaru asked. "He…"

"I know," Yoh said, his face suddenly a mask of seriousness. "And, I honestly don't know why. Perhaps because he's family? Or maybe because," Yoh looked at the ground and traced a pattern in the dirt for some ants to follow towards a crumb, "because I think deep down Hao is really a good person. Or at least he can be."

"You're very trusting, Yoh-dono," Amidamaru told him gently.

"Am I?" Yoh asked and laughed. "I guess so, huh?"

"Anna-dono will be upset if we take any longer," Amidamaru told him. "We should get going."

Yoh stood up and dusted off his pants, "All right. I hope there's a good breakfast waiting back at home," he said with a grin.

Yoh took off down the road chatting with Amidamaru about food and how good it tasted after a long run. Behind the tree that Yoh had rested against Hao was standing with his arms crossed. If he didn't know any better he could have sworn Yoh knew he was standing there.

"Good person?" Hao scoffed. "You're too trusting, idiot," he snarled and held out his hand. In his palm a faint red gleam hovered for a few seconds before vanishing. "And once I get my power back we are leaving and getting the Great Spirits and nothing will change that."

He growled, angry at his lack of power and dependence on his twin's kindness. "What the hell does he mean, good person?" he muttered and started to walk back towards the house.

Later that day Yoh came into Hao's room and prodded his anti-social twin out of bed. "Wanna come with me to get some groceries?" he asked.

Hao wasn't really asleep, but he also didn't want to deal with Yoh. He lay motionless while sorting out his thoughts from earlier that day.

"Come on, it goes faster and it'll keep Anna from coming in and killing you while I'm gone," Yoh told him cheerfully.

He had a valid point. Anna was indeed a very strong, smart, pretty shaman but Hao knew how much she hated him and he wasn't stupid enough to cross her path. He got out of the bed and smoothed down his long hair. "Fine, but only because I don't want to meet up with her right now."

Yoh grinned and they left the room silently so as to not disturb the scary girl.

Yoh glanced over at Hao and smiled. "You like Anna, don't you?" he asked while they walked down the road.

"No," Hao snapped back. "I see her as a capable sprit medium and a very worthy fiancée of the Asakura family."

"Mmmm?" Yoh asked, obviously amused. "Yeah, she is. But she's a better person. Even though she's tough and very strict she still cares about people and she tries everything she can to make sure the ones she loves are safe. Anna is a good shaman, but a better human being."

"Do you have to twist everything I say?" Hao asked his twin incredulously.

"Am I?" Yoh asked. "I'm not trying too. I'm just trying to show you that there is more to people then being a shaman or having power."

Hao snorted, "Please. I'm not that naïve." He glared at Yoh. "I don't care if you're 'my other half' and I don't care if you have all of the 'good' things about my soul, however few there may be. I have lived much longer then you and I know things that humans can do to each other that you couldn't even dream of."

"You're 13," Yoh said simply. "Like me. What happened in your past lives happened then, not now."

Hao blinked, stupefied by the simplicity of the logic. "Be that as it may," Hao growled but he was cut off by Yoh turning abruptly and disappearing into the store. "Hey, listen to me when I'm talking to you!" he snapped, following his twin.

Yoh got the ingredients and supplies that were needed back at the house and paid for them at the register. Hao stood sullenly by as the woman counted change back into Yoh's hand. Yoh said a cheery thank you and picked up the two bags, handed one to a surprised Hao and left the store.

"Why do I have to carry this?" Hao asked.

"Because you're here and I don't want to carry both," Yoh replied with a nod. "Less work."

Hao raised an eyebrow but was silent for once, not wanting another headache that came from trying to understand his twin.

As they walked back a small boy of about 7 or 8 ran up to them with tears streaming down his face. "My kite got stuck in the tree," he sniffled. "I can't get it out."

Yoh glanced up and saw the kite snagged in the upper branches of a tall oak tree. He smiled and handed the other bag to Hao. "Let's go get it then."

"Wait, you're just going to help the kid out, just like that?" Hao asked.

"I hang out with Murata all the time," Yoh smiled. "The kids at this park used to be bullied by the high school kids so I drop by from time to time to make sure everything is okay."

Murata nodded. "Yoh-nii-chan is really strong," he sniffed while wiping away his tears. "He helps us," he motioned to several other children Hao gathered to be 'regulars' at the park.

"Why?" Hao asked.

"Because, they're good kids. And everyone deserves to play," Yoh grinned and hoisted himself into the tree.

The children at the base oohed and aahed as Yoh scrambled through the branches towards the wayward kite. A ragged cheer arose when Yoh snagged it and he came back down to quiet applause and cheers from the kids. He handed the kite back to Murata and grinned. "Here you go, be more careful next time and fly it away from the tree."

"Thank you," the child grinned and ran off with his playmates to fly the kite in a different location.

Yoh moseyed back up to Hao and took his bag back. "See? They're kids having fun. Nothing horrible about that," he smiled. "They deserve their chance too you know," he told Hao and continued the walk home.

Hao scoffed but didn't reply. He couldn't think of anything to say.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hao is SO hard to keep in charachter it's amazing .; I mean wow. Anywho, hoped you enjoyed this chapter it was very interesting to write. Next chapter is about Hao's hair. Yeup, you heard me, his hair. 


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Hao woke up as he always did; with a jolt. He could never remember waking up slowly to a new morning. It was always fast and instantaneous. Even though he could sometimes fall back asleep, the occasions were few and far between and usually meant that he had lost strength and needed it back. 

He got up and ready, a more normal routine he had never experienced before. It was always waking up and then plotting or carrying out his plans. Never before had he just woken up with nothing to do. Nothing to plan, nothing to carry out. It was him and the day and that was it. A very small part of him liked that, the rest of him wanted to heal faster so he could get his spirit energy back up but he knew that he had a long way to go before he could even think about making it on his own.

He walked into the hall and shut the door to his room quietly, taking great care not to disturb Anna. He knew that she would not regret having any excuse to attack him and he didn't intend to give her one. Not until he knew he could win, anyways.

"Morning!" a cheerful voice said behind him. Hao turned around with a slightly irritated glare and found himself face to face with Yoh.

"Good morning," Hao said stiffly.

"Mm, it is good, isn't it?" Yoh asked. "Good morning then."

Hao resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He didn't know if Yoh did it on purpose or not but whenever he acted like that it annoyed him to no end. "What are you doing?" Hao asked.

"I don't know," Yoh said while putting a finger to his lips in a thoughtful pose. "Is there anything you want to do?"

"Not particularly," Hao replied. "Why?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could do something you wanted to do today," Yoh answered simply. "What do you like to do?"

Hao smirked, then gave Yoh a sadistic grin and stepped forward suddenly, forcing Yoh to take a step back. "Kill weak people," he said softly.

Yoh blinked, a little surprised then to Hao's astonishment his face broke into a grin. "Ha ha, that's funny Hao," he said. "Sorry, but we can't do that today," he said cheerfully.

"What?" Hao blinked. "I was serious!"

"I know," Yoh said simply. "And I was too. Because I don't know any weak people," he said with another silly grin and took a hold of Hao's arm. "Come on, I want you to try something."

"What?" Hao asked as he found himself being unwillingly pulled somewhere by Yoh. "Wait, I never…"

"We're going out!" Yoh said really quickly and left the house before Anna could come and tell him to train.

When they were a safe distance from the house, Amidamaru appeared in a cold rush of wind. "Yoh-dono, Anna-dono is going to be very upset when you get back," he said softly.

"Well, that's when we get back," Yoh answered. "This is now. Let's go," he said cheerfully but Hao pulled his arm back.

"No," Hao said. "Where are we going?"

"To get some ice cream," Yoh said simply.

Hao paused and the silence in the air built up to the point of tangibility. "What?" he asked.

"Have you ever had ice cream?" Yoh asked.

"Of course I…" Hao paused. "I think I have," he said softly, looking concerned. "Actually…"

Yoh chuckled and grabbed Hao by the wrist again. "Come on. Its hot and getting ice cream is one of my favorite ways to…"

"Beat the heat?" Hao finished for him before Yoh could.

Yoh nodded, "Yeah."

Hao sighed and resigned himself to fate once again, telling himself that when the time came it would all pay off. "Fine," he said. "Let's go."

Yoh's smile broadened and he let go of Hao's wrist, knowing that Hao would follow him. The two ended up at a small shop with a kindly looking old woman at the counter. Yoh cheerfully ordered two ice-cream cones with both chocolate and vanilla while Hao stood in a corner trying to keep his 'upset' look.

Yoh walked over with the purchases and handed one to Hao. "Here you go," he said cheerfully and licked his own. "It's really good."

Hao looked at the frozen treat like he would something he knew was laced with poison and took a tentative bite and shivered.

Yoh burst out laughing and Hao glared at him. "No, you don't bite ice-cream," Yoh told him as if he was three. "You lick it," Yoh said and exaggerated the motion.

Hao resisted the urge to put his ice-cream cone on Yoh's head for treating him like that and licked the cone with contempt. To his amazement it tasted good. Surprisingly he never had ice-cream before, or if he did he didn't remember it. Probably somewhere deep in his mussed memories of his lives he had one of eating ice-cream but it felt good to know that the 'first' time was something that no one of importance had seen.

"See, it's good," Yoh told him while watching Hao's expression.

"It's okay," Hao said simply and continued to lick the cone as they set back out into the summer heat.

Yoh nodded his agreement and together they walked silently, licking their ice-cream cones as Amidamaru hovered behind them.

When the ice-cream was finished, Yoh took to looking Hao over to see if he could spot any differences. He was looking better at least, which was good. He was also starting to get stronger but not at a rate that he needed to worry any time soon. He had time to try and help Hao, which was good as well. He needed time, if he was going to achieve anything.

Hao ran his fingers through his long hair and sighed. Yoh noted this and finally a question he had wondered for a long time came up. "Have you ever cut your hair?" he asked suddenly.

Hao blinked at the out of the blue question and it took him a moment to register it. "No…" he said slowly. "I don't think I have. Why?"

Yoh eyed Hao's impressive mane. "Doesn't it get… hot?" he asked.

Hao shrugged. "I'm the master of the spirit of fire," he said simply.

Yoh stroked his chin. "This is true," he said softly. "But still… it has to be heavy."

"It's fine," Hao growled. "Besides, if I cut my hair, I'd look like you."

"You do look like me," Yoh pointed out.

"I'd look more like you," Hao answered exasperatedly.

Yoh looked up in thought. He grinned and started to laugh. "Anna would kill us if you cut you hair."

"Probably," Hao said with a frown. "It'd be odd though…" he said while entertaining the thought of cutting his hair for the first time.

"Interesting," Amidamaru offered.

"I'm fine with it though," Hao said simply. He was to, there was nothing wrong with his hair as far as he could tell.

"Maybe you could pull it back though?" Yoh suggested. "For the summer at least."

"Maybe…" Hao replied thoughtfully. "It may help."

Yoh nodded, "It would," he decided.

Hao blinked, "How did we get into a discussion about my hair?"

"I was wondering about it and I asked," Yoh replied. "And you answered. Just a normal conversation."

"A normal… conversation," Hao replied slowly. "Yeah," he nodded. "Still…"

"Don't worry," Yoh said cheerfully. "Amidamaru and I have conversations like this all the time. It's normal," he teased.

It took Hao a few seconds to realize that Yoh was teasing him. His cheeks colored slightly as he snapped "Shut up," at Yoh.

Yoh laughed and picked up the pace. "Come on, let's go home," he said.

"Home?" Hao asked suddenly.

"Yeah, home. Like where Anna is, and where you've been sleeping for the past three days," Yoh said. "Home."

Hao shrugged and trotted after Yoh. "Home indeed," he snorted even though secretly he was touched that Yoh had referred to it as their home. His home.

But… home implied that it was a place he was welcome and he knew that it was anything but. Perhaps though, Yoh welcomed him.

That was Yoh fault though, for trusting him like that. Yoh had no right referring to it as their home.

His home.

It was still a nice thought, Hao ventured as they walked back to where Anna was waiting.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I know this fic isn't exactly popular but Hao is fun to write and Yoh is... Yoh so I will continue. For the... 2 or 3 of you reading this, hope you liked the chapter.


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